Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt - Softcover

McKissack, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0399549501 ISBN 13: 9780399549502

Publisher: Dragonfly Books, 2016

Synopsis

This collection of poems that tell the story of the quilt-making community in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, is now available as a Dragonfly paperback.
 
For generations, the women of Gee’s Bend have made quilts to keep a family warm, as a pastime accompanied by sharing and singing, or to memorialize loved ones. Today, the same quilts hang on museum walls as modern masterpieces of color and design. Inspired by these quilts and the women who made them, award-winning author Patricia C. McKissack traveled to Alabama to learn their stories. The lyrical rite-of-passage narrative that is the result of her journey seamlessly weaves together the familial, cultural, spiritual, and historical strands of life in this community.

About this title

About the Author:

PATRICIA C. McKISSACK is the author of the Caldecott Honor Book Mirandy and Brother Wind and the Newbery Honor Book The Dark-Thirty. She and her husband, Fred, have written over a hundred books about the African American experience. She has also received the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children’s books and the Virginia Hamilton Award. To get a feel for the lives of the quilters she describes in this book, Pat traveled to Gee’s Bend, Alabama, where she spent several days with the quilt makers and even got a quilting lesson.
 
COZBI A. CABRERA is the illustrator of the picture books Thanks a Million and Beauty, Her Basket. She is also recognized for her handmade textile work, which includes quilts and clothing. Her collectible cloth dolls (muñecas) received national attention when they were featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Martha Stewart Show. You can visit her website at cozbi.com.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1–5—The rural Alabama community of Gee's Bend is widely recognized for its unique quilts. Although the women have been quilting for over a century, their work was unknown until art historian William Arnett discovered it about 20 years ago. Stitchin' and Pullin' is the modern-day story of Baby Girl, who grows from a child playing beneath her elders' quilting frame to becoming a member of the intergenerational circle, piecing together her first quilt. McKissack's free-verse narrative shares the rich heritage of the Gee's Bend artisans as Baby Girl selects the fabrics that have significance to her and her family and finds the "heart" of her quilt. She speaks about the meaning of colors and patterns and what they bring to a quilt. The story is full of love and spirit. Cabrera's acrylic paintings depict the richness of tradition and strength of character as connections are made between fabric and history. Readers will enjoy the slow cadence of verse as they pause to consider history through the eyes of the people who lived it and the legacy that is passed on to the next generation.—Lisa Glasscock, Columbine Public Library, Littleton, CO
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About this edition

• Publisher: Dragonfly Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0399549501
• ISBN 13: 9780399549502
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Cabrera Cozbi A.